WVU football's elite freshman class set to be among best in Big 12

West Virginia football is in the midst of fall camp, with less than a month to go before the Mountaineers begin their season against Coastal Carolina. And with another massive rebuild ongoing for the Mountaineers, there is a good chance there will be quite a few faces unfamiliar to WVU football fans who make an impact once the season is underway. And there's a good chance some of them are true freshmen.

The Mountaineers put a lot of effort into their 2026 high school class this offseason in particular, and in the process, they ended up with a class that included multiple four-star prospects that ranked among the upper-echelon of FBS programs. Recently, ESPN published a list of 51 freshmen that are set to make an impact this season, and among the 10 players listed from the Big 12, two Mountaineers are featured.

Kevin Brown, Matt Sieg poised for breakout freshmen seasons for West Virginia Mountaineers?

Kevin Brown, who was among the top offensive tackle prospects in his class nationally, was initially a Penn State commit before James Franklin lost his job mid-season in 2025. From there, the Mountaineers out-recruited the Ohio State Buckeyes to earn his services. Now, recent developments have strongly hinted that he'll be the starting left tackle this fall.

"The four-star tackle is a physical, nasty culture-setter who knows how to use his leverage and lower-body strength to his advantage," wrote ESPN's Billy Tucker.

And at No. 8 on the list is Matt Sieg, the freshman safety who the Mountaineers unexpectedly flipped from Penn State during the Early Signing Period last December. Another highly-touted four-star recruit, he has been praised heavily by the coaching staff since joining the program, with head coach Rich Rodriguez hinting that he could be a Travis Hunter-style two-way player.

"He's dynamic enough that the Mountaineers didn't close the door on him contributing on offense this spring. He projects best to safety, where he can use his ball skills and athleticism to step in immediately," Tucker wrote.

The only other programs in the league with more than one player on the list were BYU and Texas Tech – and only seven Big 12 programs had a player on the list in total. That bodes well not just for the upcoming season, but for the future of the program over the next few years.

And the freshman contributions likely won't end there. ESPN's list neglected four-star running back Amari Latimer, who also will likely play a big role for West Virginia this season. He is projected to be the No 2 running back behind Cam Cook right now, and Rodriguez is known for his run-heavy scheme: so if he is the backup, he'll undoubtedly have an opportunity to prove himself this fall.

This all adds up to give West Virginia's freshmen class a real opportunity to be among the most impactful and most impressive in the Big 12, and perhaps all of FBS football, this fall. And if that happens, it will be great news for WVU fans everywhere.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow